Casinos the easy way

Thinking of visiting a casino but not sure exactly what you'd do if you
got there? This is becoming a more common problem of late, as an increasing
number of people receive their first exposure to the world of gambling
via online casinos instead of our land based friends.

Land based casinos can be an intimidating experience the first time through,
but if you've read up here you'll have an easier time. First off we'll
look at what you are likely to encounter when you first enter the doors,
and where you should go. In some countries or regions you will be asked
for ID at the entry to the casino, as no children are allowed inside.
At others you will not be asked for ID until you sit down at the table,
and if you don't have a baby face like me, it may never become a problem.

So assuming you make it past the bouncers, your senses are in for a treat.
Casinos are colorful, eye-candy filled places, designed to get you all
excited and feel as though you're really out on the town for a good time.
If they didn't manage to instill this feeling, most casinos also wouldn't
be able to convince you to drop so much money gambling! You may also notice
a complete lack of windows and clocks. Nobody wants you to know what time
of day it is, as you might realize how long you've been playing for, and
realize it's a lot later than you thought!

The floor beneath you, and the ceiling above you, will be random patterns
designed to make you dizzy if you look at them for too long. Naturally,
your eyes find themselves comfortable staring straight ahead. This means
you'll naturally find yourself staring at a slot machine, video poker
game, or your table game. Tricky. Don't let all the intimidating factors
get to you though, the casinos really only want to make you comfortable,
just so long as you can't be comfortable somewhere you can't gamble.

Your first stop when enter will most likely be to a cash machine, unless
you're one of those forward thinking types who went to their own bank
first to avoid the charges. Then, if you like to play the table games
like me, you'll head to change that cash into chips (or checks for the
hardcores out there - technically 'chips' are exclusive to the roulette
table). So once you're stocked up on the casinos cash (which, surprisingly,
you'll find much easier to part with than you would green paper) it's
time to hit the floor.

Well, perhaps not quite yet. If you're interested in getting comped for
your play (and you should be if you plan on playing with a couple of hundred
bucks) then the next step is to join the slots club. Even if you never
play slots, the slots club (which yes, isn't always called the slots club
but if you ask for the slots club, they'll know what you're talking about)
enables casinos to 'rate your play' or keep track of how much of a gambler
you are. You will literally be given a credit card sized piece of plastic
which you can slide into the available spot on slot machines and video
poker machines. Take it with you when you go to the tables and give it
to the dealer, the croupier will take your card and track your play. The
more play the casinos can keep track of, the more comps you'll be entitled
to over the course of your stay.
So now that it's gaming time, lets find a good starting approach. To begin
with, the best thing you could do is decide on the game you're interested
in most, and then spend some time watching the play at the table before
you actually sit down. Of course if you're a slots or video poker fan
the first thing to do is to find machine you get a good feeling from (or
one that has a good pay table). It's the table games though, that are
most intimidating.

Don't be nervous though, the casinos are very used to issuing in new
players, in fact it's an essential part of their business, so it's the
casino's job to make thing easy on you. Occasionally you will find a dealer
abrasive or not so nice to the newcomer. In this case I recommend you
leave their table, they don't deserve your time or money. For the most
part though if you're new to a game, the dealers will go out of their
way to ease you into it. If the dealers where you're playing don't make
you feel comfortable, consider switching casinos.

Blackjack is a perfect example of a game where many mistakes are may
by new players. If you're sitting down to a blackjack table and are dealt
something you don't quite know what to do with, it's not inappropriate
to ask the dealer what they would do in your situation. Most dealers at
any decent casinos will tell you what 'basic strategy' suggests, which
is what you really want to hear anyway. Keep in mind though; if you have
to ask for advice on every hand, you'll be slowing down the game-play
of the whole table, and your presence wont be appreciated for very long.
The same spirit goes along with each of the other table games. Craps is
a little more superstitious than most table games casinos offer however,
and you'll probably want to gain a good understanding of the game before
you approach it. A great guide to craps exists at Online-Craps.com.
Ensure you've at least read up on the game ahead of time, and I sincerely
recommend you play around with our free
casino games to get a sense of how they are played. This will do boatloads
for your confidence when you step up to the table in the real casinos,
online or off.